Tâm Lê in Saigon
Street Cred: Phan Đình Phùng, My Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Grandfather
An unassuming street named Phan Đình Phùng runs through Saigon’s Phú Nhuận District. It is named after a Vietnamese revolutionary who led rebel armies against French colonial forces in the 1880s and 1890s. He is also my great-great-great-great-great-grandfather.
Lycée Marie Curie: The High School That Has Stood the Test of Time
Marie Curie High School, also called Lycée Marie Curie in French or Trường Trung Học Phổ Thông Marie Curie in Vietnamese, is a public high school located in Saigon’s District 3.
Khôi Phạm in Saigon
Old Saigon Building of the Week: The Glitz and Glam of Tự Do Nightclub
While today’s Đồng Khởi Street is peppered with tourist-centric shops and restaurants, just half a century ago, the downtown street was the nightlife hotspot for Saigon’s cool kids to congregate.
Revisit the Colorful, Diverse Universe of Multinational Xe Đò in 1990s Saigon
Saigoneers who spent their formative years in the 1990s will remember an era of secondhand products of mixed origins. This unique feature of daily life also extended into the transportation realm.
The Double-Edged Allure of Indochic in Postcolonial Vietnam
Bordering the Temple of Literature in Hanoi is Nguyễn Thái Học Boulevard, where a number of art shops sit side by side. Among them, tourists and visitors can find an endless supply of varying iterations of socialist iconography, gold-plated replicas of Đông Sơn drums, and faux-impressionist paintings of colonial Indochina. In Mũi Né, a 127-room resort unironically called The Anam Mui Ne boasts its Indochine allure with “Indochine Charm. Modern Luxury” on its home page. Throughout the resort are paintings depicting women in traditional áo dài and scenes of tranquil fishing villages, gesturing toward the bucolic past of Vietnam. In Saigon, numerous cafes and eateries are decorated in encaustic cement tiles with intricate floral, pastel designs, while brandishing French names and wrought iron railings on their balconies.
Uyên Đỗ in Hanoi
A Slice of Life in Coupon-Era Hanoi via Colorful Vintage Lottery Tickets
What can tiny sheets of paper reveal about a whole time period?
Brian Letwin in Heritage
Tàu Cánh Ngầm: The Curious Case of Saigon’s Lost Soviet Hydrofoils
Not long ago, hulking “creatures” glided atop the waters between Saigon and Vũng Tàu. Like the dinosaurs that came before them, they slowly disappeared, until all that was left were their skeletons.
Tim Doling in Saigon
The Surprisingly Recent History Behind Bình Thạnh's Lonely 'Gia-Đinh' Gate
It’s claimed by several tourism websites that a gateway from one of the ancient Gia Định citadels has survived and may be viewed on the Lê Văn Duyệt-Phan Đăng Lưu intersection in Bình Thạnh District, close to the Lê Văn Duyệt Mausoleum. However, a little research into the history of that area reveals that the gateway in question has more recent origins.
[Photos] Emperor Bao Dai's 1942 Offering of Worship to Heaven and Earth
Throughout Vietnam’s imperial era, ceremonial rituals were an indispensable part of a local monarch’s reign. One such celebration was Nam Giao, an annual ceremony of utmost importance in the king’s ca...
[Photos] The 1920s Students of Hanoi’s Indochina University
In Vietnam, “người không học như ngọc không mài” – an uneducated person is like an unpolished gem. From the founding of Ly Nhan Tong’s Quoc Tu Giam in 1076 to the 14th-century Confucian wisdom of Chu ...
Old Saigon Building of the Week: The Three-Legged Bridge of Cho Lon
Saigoneers born after the 1990s might be familiar with the term dân chơi cầu Ba Cẳng, or “the daredevils of Ba Cang Bridge”. However, not many are aware of its starting point, which originated from a ...
Street Cred: Trinh Cong Son, the Voice of a Generation
Earlier this week, Hanoi officials announced the conversion of the capital’s narrow Trinh Cong Son Street into a pedestrian zone featuring artistic performances as well as snacks and souvenirs.
[Photos] Saigon’s Colonial-Era Shipping Line Brought the World to Vietnam
During the French colonial era, the Messageries Maritimes shipping line, established in 1851, permitted thousands of men and women to traverse the seas in order to visit French colonies. It had an esp...
129-Year-Old Nam Dinh Church Destroyed by Fire
On Saturday night, a 129-year-old church in Nam Dinh province caught fire, damaging one of Vietnam’s oldest religious structures.
[Photos] A Nostalgic Look at Da Lat Market Through Time
Built in 1929, Da Lat’s central market is not only a buzzing commercial center, but also an important historical landmark of the sleepy resort town.
Khoi Pham in Saigon
Street Cred: The Ill-Fated Power Couple of Vietnam's Literary Scene in the 1980s
It’s been almost three decades since that fateful day in 1988 when, in a blink of an eye, Vietnam’s literary scene was robbed off two most beloved talents. Luu Quang Vu and Xuan Quynh’s death was some...
Old Saigon Building of the Week: Hotel Majestic Saigon
The 92-year-old Hotel Majestic has seen many incarnations, most notably becoming the first Vietnamese managed five-star hotel in Saigon. But the rest of the building’s nine-decade existence has been j...
[Photos] Gia Long High School and 100 Years of Female Education
Before becoming the prestigious Nguyen Thi Minh Khai High School of today, this District 1 institution used to be home to Gia Long, once Saigon’s most well-known school for girls.
[Photos] Take a Stroll Down the Streets of Saigon in 1970
The streets of today's Saigon were considerably different from what they were in 1970: fewer cars and motorbikes, and more live pythons.
[Photos] Saigon Then & Now: Chợ Cũ
In today's Saigon, Chợ Cũ on Ton That Dam Street might appear like a derelict wet market, but in its heyday, the street used to be home to a bustling commercial area where merchants from all over...
[Video] A Rare Look Into Indochina From the French Perspective
It’s not particularly difficult to seek out a good collection of old Saigon photos, as the city has always been a muse for photographers from all walks of life. However, old video footage of the count...
Saigon Notre Dame Basilica Set to Receive $4.4m Makeover
Though there is not yet an official start date, Saigon's Notre Dame Basilica is set to undergo a major renovation in future.
[Photos] Vietnam’s Last Imperial Wedding
The wedding of Emperor Bao Dai, Vietnam’s final monarch, and Empress Nam Phuong was one for the ages.
[Photos] The Vibrant Past of Saigon's Quach Thi Trang Roundabout in the 1960s
From the city’s early days until recently, Saigon’s Quach Thi Trang roundabout has always been a muse for traveling photographers.
[Photos] Vintage Postcards Capture the Beauty of Vietnam Through the Eras - Part 1
From this eclectic set of postcards, one can learn a lot about Vietnam’s progress through the eras.
Brian Letwin in Saigon
Street Cred: The Tumultuous Life of Dinh Tien Hoang
Dinh Bo Linh – also known as Dinh Hoan or Dinh Tien Hoang – was a sterling emperor who is one of the main figures in Vietnam’s long history of struggle against occupying Chinese forces. In today'...
[Photos] A Rare Glimpse of Life in Hanoi in 1959
It’s hard to imagine what life was like in a motorbike-free Hanoi.
The Great Hanoi Rat Massacre: The Capital's Brief Stint With the Plague
France left a diverse legacy in Indochina: colonial buildings, flushing toilets and even the bubonic plague.
